Corporate capture

Today, the European Ombudsman issued a damning critique of the systemic problems in the Commission's handling of ex-Commission President Barroso's revolving door move to Goldman Sachs International. The Ombudsman's recommendations take up the concerns that the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation in the EU (ALTER-EU) raised in a complaint submitted in March 2017.

European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen confirmed he had a lobby meeting with ex-Commission President Barroso who represented investment bank Goldman Sachs International. ALTER-EU (the Alliance for Lobby Transparency and Ethics Regulation, of which Friends of the Earth Europe is a member) asked the European Commission to re-assess Barroso's job.

Intended to influence the debate on the future direction of Europe, this alternative vision is endorsed by organisations representing a multitude of public interest issues, including labour rights, culture, development, environment, health, women's rights, youth, and anti-discrimination groups.

As the European Commission reaches half-time in its term of office, campaigners are calling for urgent action to address the bias towards corporate interests as evidenced by data on lobby meetings held by Commissioners.

Reformed ethics rules for European Parliamentarians lack bite, and will not do enough to build trust in European institutions, according to transparency campaigners. Reforms to the code of conduct for Members of European Parliament (MEP), voted in today, improve some voluntary transparency measures, but fail to include an explicit ban on controversial second jobs for MEPs in organisations that lobby the European Institutions.

This morning, the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) and CropLife America (CLA) – two trade associations representing big pesticides companies – were awarded the Democracy for Sale Awards [1] for their attempt to use the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to shape current and future pesticides regulation.